Date: 5/18/26 11:43 am From: <greg...> via Tweeters <tweeters...> Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Merlin VS. Redwing
One of my favorite bird encounters ever was just outside of Sacramento, parked on the side of a small lane. A merlin landed on the fencepost across the road with a fresh starling, not 20 feet away, and proceeded to pluck it and eat right there. So close that could hear the bones break.
Usually when I see Merlin’s they’re zipping by like a bat out of hell, but this was a real treat!
-Greg Pasquariello
Lakeshore WA
From: Tweeters <tweeters-bounces...> on behalf of Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <tweeters...>
Date: Monday, May 18, 2026 at 10:50 AM
To: Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson...>
Cc: TWEETERS tweeters <tweeters...>
Subject: Re: [Tweeters] Merlin VS. Redwing
Very interesting, thanks for sharing Dennis ! Seems there are not too many dragonflies out yet while they were abundant last summer. It is interesting to see the falcons feed on the wing. Most of the times the Merlin’s would return to a perch though to consume their prey. Some years ago while visiting Northern Cyprus, I watched a flock of 15 or more Lesser Kestrels all feeding on insects while in the air.
Thinking of my post, maybe the Merlin turned tables on the Redwing ? The male Redwings are very aggressively chasing nest robbing crows, cowbirds and other large birds. Maybe it chased the Merlin first ?
On Mon, May 18, 2026 at 7:15 AM Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson...><mailto:<dennispaulson...>> wrote:
Dragonflies are common prey of Merlins and other small falcons. Numerous kinds of dragonflies, most of them large, fly continuously as they look for their flying insect prey, and they have no chance against Merlins. Swallow-tailed and Mississippi Kites catch large numbers of them in the Southeast, and the Mississippis time their fall migration through eastern Mexico to coincide with swarms of Common Green Darners also migrating south well up in the air.
Dennis Paulson
Seattle
On May 17, 2026, at 11:51 PM, Hans-Joachim Feddern via Tweeters <tweeters...><mailto:<tweeters...>> wrote:
This evening at Treasure Island Park, Twin Lakes, Federal Way, we watched a Merlin ( the falcon - not the app) chase a male Red-winged Blackbird. They made two rounds, but surprisingly enough the falcon was unable to catch up with the blackbird. Wisely, the blackbird dove into the willows, which made the falcon overshoot. What surprised me, is that the blackbird 's flight was fast enough to escape the falcon. Also it seems rather large for a Merlin's prey. Merlins seem to prey on swallows, but I also saw them last summer gorging themselves on an abundance of dragonflies. They were catching them and consuming them in midair !
